Add References

Updated April 26, 2026 20:31

Find References to Add to RefWorks

Files (PDFs, Word Documents, videos, etc.), can be uploaded to RefWorks (see Uploading Files as References).
References can be added
- Directly from websites using Direct Export (where supported), or use the Save to RefWorks (StR) bookmarklet.
- From folders that are shared by other users. See Working with Shared Folders of References.
From within RefWorks, users can search an external database for references, if enabled by institutional Admin. See Searching External Databases from Within RefWorks.
When configured by institutional Admin, users can search
- For references in library catalog.
  - When item is found in library's catalog
    - Click Send to/Cite/Export to > RefWorks on the item page, or
    - Download the reference and import into RefWorks.
    - To open library's catalog from within RefWorks
      - Click Add > Create reference manually, and in the Reference Details, select Find full-text using Admin configured Link Resolver (institutional Admin may have renamed this link).
Reference information in PubMed, Crossref lookup, Unpaywall, search: Related PubMed articles, More by author in PubMed, Google Scholar, DOI, Unpaywall link appears for references where DOI is present and located in the Unpaywall database. Depending on reference in Unpaywall, link will offer a new webpage with information or start PDF download.
In Related Articles tab - available only for Ref Type: Journal Article.

Search Search Online Catalog or Database from Within RefWorks

The Search Databases option does not appear if disabled by institutional Admin.

Click on Search Databases in the Reference Organization area. RefWorks replaces the Reference Actions area with a search bar.

Select the database from drop down menu. Search for database if not visible in list.

Use the basic search to search all fields, or select Advanced to search in specific fields.

Search and Advanced Search in Search Databases

Click on any reference in search results list to view details about the reference.

Search Databases search results reference details

To add results as references, select one or more items and click Import. To import into specific Folder(s), click to Assign references and select folders from list.

Search Databases Import or Assign to Folder

References will be added to current project.

Add References from Related Articles (bX Recommender)

In Normal or Citation view, click on Related articles tab in the Reference preview pane, select desired articles, and import them. Users may assign them to a folder and avoid duplicates during import.

Related articles in reference preview panel

Related articles - assign, deduplicate and import

bX Recommender searches for related articles based on Journal Article Ref Type only.

Manually Add References

Type in details and Find and Autocomplete

Click Add on the Reference and Tools Actions menu.

To add a reference directly to a folder, select the folder in the Reference Organization menu and click on Add and click Create New Reference.

Select the reference type. The detail fields on the sidebar update according on the ref type selected.

Reference Reference Details/Reference Editor Ref Type field

Enter a title or partial title, optionally select the

button in the Title field to have RefWorks match the title with an item in the library. This search and autocomplete feature is also available in DOI field, which appears for most reference types (click Add more fields or Show all fields) as well as for the ISSN/ISBN fields.

Reference Details/Reference Editor Find and complete

RefWorks shows possible matches at the bottom of the Reference Editor. RefWorks completes the title and fills the fields with information from the repository. If no suitable match is found, proceed to enter the rest of the reference details manually.

When clicking on Title in the suggestion list, the contents of the reference will be replaced.
When clicking on ISSN, ISBN or DOI, the contents of the reference will be supplemented.
To prevent any data from being overwritten it is recommend to save a copy of a reference, see Duplicating References for more information, before using the Title look up.

Enter any required tags for reference. If any tags currently exist for other references, they can be applied. Tags are used for filtering references on the Tags tab in the Navigation area; see Organizing References with Tags.

If a file attachment needs to be added, drag and drop the file to the Reference Details/Reference Editor or select Add an attachment to upload the file. For a list of supported file types, see Attachment File Formats.

Fill in as many of the remaining fields as possible.

For more information, see Editing References.

If custom fields have been defined (see Configuring Basic Information), they can be added individually, or by toggling Show all fields in Reference Details/Reference Editor.

Custom fields can be created while creating or editing the reference. Enter the custom field name in Add more fields and select Add "..." as a custom field.

The custom field is saved and added to the reference. The custom field is now available to be added to all references.

Custom field added in Reference Edit pane

Click Save.

Upload Files as References

Either drag and drop a file into the main area of references page or click on Upload Document under Add item in the Reference and Tools Actions menu. Select the file. The upload process starts automatically. The file can be in any supported format. See Attachment File Formats.

The file uploads as a reference with type Generic. RefWorks attempts to automatically extract as much information as it can from the uploaded file. Edit the reference to correct and complete the information.

When dragging and dropping multiple files at one time, a reference is created for each file.

Import References

Import references from any reference management service or import directly from Mendeley. For other services, such as Zotero, import a file that was exported from that service, or any other supported file format.

Import references listed in Word of PDF document

Click on Word or PDF option under Add item in the Reference and Tools Actions menu.

Drag and drop the file onto the import area, or click to select a file from computer. RefWorks will recognize file format.

Supported file types include Word (,docx) and PDF.

Choose to Search for full text and Ignore duplicates during import.
Choose if to import the document, which will create a separate reference with the attachment included.

Importing references from files

Click on Other file types option under Add item in the Reference and Tools Actions menu.

Import from Mendeley

Click on Import from Mendeley button and Authorize on the following page.

Sign into Mendeley account, the import process will be initiated.

The "Import Process Complete" message will inform how many references were copied. Mendeley library will not be altered.

Click Go to Last Imported to view imported references.

Mendeley allows exports of up to 500 references at one time and does not retain folder structure. See here for more information.

Import from reference management services, or database(s)

Export a file from reference management service to one of the following formats: NLM PubMed, RefWorks Tagged, RefWorks XML, RIS or Web of Science, etc. For example:

Zotero:
- Select references and select Export Library from File menu or Export Items… from the right-click menu.
- Click the RIS format and save the file.
- Import the file into RefWorks.
EndNote:
- Click Edit > Output Styles > Open Style Manager and select RefMan (RIS) Export.
- Select the references, select File > Export, and save the file as RefMan (RIS) Export.
- Import the file into RefWorks.
ReadCube:
- Select the article or articles.
- Click Export to RefMan (RIS) file from the right-click menu, and save the file.
- Import the file into RefWorks.
Papers:
- Highlight the references, click File > Export ..., select Refman RIS, and save the file.
- Import the file into RefWorks.
PubMed:
- Do one of the following:
  - Select the references to export OR Select to export all references.
  - Click Save.
  - Select the RIS format and then click Create File. Save the file.
  - Import the file into RefWorks.

Drag and drop a file from computer or select the select a file from computer option and choose a file to open.

RefWorks will recognize file format and offer choices got import.

To change the format, select the search for the format option.

Choose format from the dropdown menu.

Click Import.

References can be assigned to a folder, or a new folder may be created during import.
Select if tags should be imported and if duplicate references should be ignored (those will not be imported). Deduplication during import is based on Exact match for: Author, Title and Year; it uses the same algorithm as Find Duplicate References.